diff --git a/core/clear_vars.mk b/core/clear_vars.mk
index 5209a04d86..0720efaecb 100644
--- a/core/clear_vars.mk
+++ b/core/clear_vars.mk
@@ -123,6 +123,7 @@ LOCAL_CTS_TEST_RUNNER:=
 LOCAL_CLANG:=
 LOCAL_ADDRESS_SANITIZER:=
 LOCAL_JAR_EXCLUDE_FILES:=
+LOCAL_SOURCE_FILES_ALL_GENERATED:= # '',true
 
 # Trim MAKEFILE_LIST so that $(call my-dir) doesn't need to
 # iterate over thousands of entries every time.
diff --git a/core/java.mk b/core/java.mk
index 4e33ef2a80..9a4f3a247f 100644
--- a/core/java.mk
+++ b/core/java.mk
@@ -15,8 +15,11 @@ endif #PDK
 
 # Make sure there's something to build.
 # It's possible to build a package that doesn't contain any classes.
-ifeq (,$(strip $(LOCAL_SRC_FILES)$(all_res_assets)$(LOCAL_STATIC_JAVA_LIBRARIES)))
-$(error $(LOCAL_PATH): Target java module does not define any source or resource files)
+# LOCAL_SOURCE_FILES_ALL_GENERATED is set only if the module does not have static source files,
+# but generated source files in its LOCAL_INTERMEDIATE_SOURCE_DIR.
+# You have to set up the dependency in some other way.
+ifeq (,$(strip $(LOCAL_SRC_FILES)$(all_res_assets)$(LOCAL_STATIC_JAVA_LIBRARIES))$(filter true,$(LOCAL_SOURCE_FILES_ALL_GENERATED)))
+$(warning $(LOCAL_PATH): Target java module does not define any source or resource files)
 endif
 
 LOCAL_NO_STANDARD_LIBRARIES:=$(strip $(LOCAL_NO_STANDARD_LIBRARIES))
@@ -232,7 +235,7 @@ $(cleantarget): PRIVATE_CLEAN_FILES += $(intermediates.COMMON)
 # If the module includes java code (i.e., it's not framework-res), compile it.
 full_classes_jar :=
 built_dex :=
-ifneq (,$(strip $(all_java_sources)$(full_static_java_libs)))
+ifneq (,$(strip $(all_java_sources)$(full_static_java_libs))$(filter true,$(LOCAL_SOURCE_FILES_ALL_GENERATED)))
 
 # If LOCAL_BUILT_MODULE_STEM wasn't overridden by our caller,
 # full_classes_jar will be the same module as LOCAL_BUILT_MODULE.